Smart I/O Modules For IoT Connect Machines To IT Systems

TE Connectivity (TE) has unveiled new products for Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 applications at SPS IPC Drives 2016. These include it’s new IoT OmniGate I/O module, which allows information from sensors and actuators to be captured, filtered, prepared and then transferred to IT systems.

TE’s new IoT OmniGate I/O modules can be used to set up a communication path from the machine to the cloud without impairing the performance of the control network, according to the firm.

While a wealth of data is already generated today at field level, it is often not possible to extract and read it all. “In our experience, controllers process on average only around five percent of the total volume of information available,” says Monika Kuklok, director Industrial IoT at TE.

“To give an example, for improving productivity with machine downtime reduction through predictive maintenance, a large variety of data must be made accessible. This requires a bridge between automation technology and the IT world”, she added.

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The new edge computing device reads, processes and forwards the data in a uniform data model, thus allowing it to be processed immediately in IT systems. Since I/O modules already exist in machines, they are easy to replace with this new smart version, providing older machines with a simple upgrade, the firm said.

The IoT OmniGate I/O module allows fully scalable access to all native sensor and actuator data, while ensuring high relevance of the forwarded data volume for applicable IoT requirements. Process data is forwarded to the controller without compromising on performance. Optional cloud administration and data management for storing the data complete the package.